After her MS diagnosis, the filmmaker shifted her focus from film to photographs to continue her career in the visual arts.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Don't table your talent if you're an artist with MS. Instead, look for new creative outlets and find a way to do the things you enjoy.

The key to creative success with MS is to adapt your work schedule: Take breaks, plan ahead, avoid weather extremes, and keep stress under wraps.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Though film had long been part of Katherine Moore’s life, a multiple sclerosis diagnosis at age 29 put an end to 16-hour days on movie sets.

Instead of letting her creativity waste away, Moore decided to channel her energy “into something I could do more on my own pace but still find fulfilling creatively,” she said.

That's why today she's a photographer with MS. Working from Seattle, which the British-born Moore, now 39, has called home for nearly two decades, she specializes in family portraits, pets, and live music performances. Moore previously had worked as a volunteer, photographing rescue cats, and "that was great motivation to push me toward finding something related to film that would be really fulfilling to me,” she said.

Adapting to Relapsing-Remitting MS

Moore suspected something might be wrong when she began to feel odd sensations, like numbness and tingling in her limbs. It wasn't until she woke one morning and couldn’t see out of her right eye that she started moving toward a diagnosis. Her eye doctor couldn’t find anything wrong but, suspecting a bigger issue, suggested that she get an MRI. Nerve testing and a spinal tap confirmed MS.

Getting the diagnosis was a relief, Moore said, “because you know what you’re dealing with.”

Like the majority of people with MS, Moore has the relapsing-remitting type, "so it’s up and down,” she said. To be successful as a photographer with MS and a mom to her 6-year-old son, Moore has had to learn what her body can handle each day. “You try and ignore it,” she said, "but if I try to do too much, I can have a bad period." What's key, she said, is "understanding what my body is capable of and being kind to myself.”

Moore finds she’s most productive in the morning, so she tries to schedule shoots for earlier in the day and leave editing for afternoons and evenings, when she can curl up with her laptop. She also has to stay out of the midday sun because extreme heat can exacerbate symptoms, which occasionally presents a challenge in her line of work. “Luckily, I'm in Seattle, so generally it's a good climate for managing symptoms as we have few extremes,” she said. Last summer, though, she photographed a late-afternoon wedding, which is the hottest time of the day there, and it was "an ordeal," she said.

As a photographer with MS, Moore also has to be selective about the equipment she takes to shoots. “Having too much stuff weighs me down,” she said. She also knows how important it is to stay well-hydrated when she's working — to maintain appropriate bladder function and prevent urinary tract infections — and to keep moving. “I find if I sit in one spot too long, I get headaches and my muscles have to work too hard to try and hold me up,” she said.

Having MS zaps her energy, she said, "and the things I love to do take a lot of energy." Even so, that hasn't stopped her, nor should it stop other artists with MS, she said. “Accept that you’re going to have bad days and good days and relapses, and make accommodations,” she advised. Find a way to do the things you enjoy.

She also recommended seeking out others who understand or have MS because there’s comfort in sharing with people who have similar experiences. Also, find ways to ease stress. When she needs to relax, Moore watches movies and looks at other people’s photography to stay inspired. Being a photographer is an advantage to anyone with a chronic illness, she said, “because it can make you slow down and look at things differently.”

More Tips for Artists With MS

Rosalind Kalb, PhD, a clinical psychologist and vice president of clinical programs at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in New York City, suggested reaching out to professionals, such as occupational therapists and physical therapists, who can help you devise strategies for doing what you love.

“Perhaps what you like to do can be done in a slightly different way or with a slightly different tool to enable you to continue that creative process,” Dr. Kalb said. Those who have vision problems, which are common with MS, should work with their doctors to manage the challenge of visual changes, she added.

As the disease progresses, you may need to refocus your creative talent in a different direction, Kalb said, but "it's a matter of being open to thinking differently about it and being willing to be flexible."

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